Our homes are hotbeds for energy. They not only consume a lot of power, but they can also make it too. At least, this is the vision that modern interior designers, home designers, eco-engineers, and other kinds of professionals are hoping for. They are putting every effort into creating new ways for the home to power itself. For the home to be energy independent and efficient all on its own, is the ultimate goal of the next generation and beyond. But this is a huge task which will not be completed easily. The home is having to develop, become more practical and this can cause some homeowners to throw in the towel regarding this prospect. Aren’t homes meant to be comfortable and not just purely functional? Well, see if you think the following crushes that sentiment.
The most obvious.
You already know what the most obvious way to create power in the home is. Well, it’s not in it, it’s on it. Solar roofs are becoming commonplace now. You travel around places like California, London, New York or Tokyo, and you see many homes with solar shingles. This is a new technology, unlike solar panels. Panels are the traditional way to collect solar power, but they are also very inefficient. They usually have one angle which is the optimum angle to collect the sun’s rays, but this means that they are really only working for about 2-3 hours a day. It usually begins around midday and lasts until early evening. But, solar shingles are able to fit the mold of your entire roof, so no matter what time of the day it is, your roof will be operating at maximum efficiency to collect solar power.
Renewable energy provider
Once upon a time, only conventional energy companies. They burned coal or gas to produce electricity and everyone worked with them to power their own homes. However, eco-energy companies are springing up all over the place. This is because the issue of storing solar power has been solved. Conventional companies had a monopoly on the local storage units inside and outside of cities and towns. But solar power farms are able to now transport their energy into cities due to having access to local storage units. So your home or even your high-rise apartment can be powered using eco-friendly energy now. It works just like any other energy company, you simply sign a contract with them for however long you want and the lights flick on as usual. But you know you are doing the earth less harm by switching over to this sort of provider.
Heat from the air?
An air source heat pump takes heat from the outside air, and channels it into the home, helping to reduce heating costs. It works much like an air conditioner but in reverse that, it filters heat molecules in the air outside of your home and scuttles them inside. This kind of technology is not necessarily groundbreaking or new, but it has been proven to work. It can save the average home about $500 in heating bills annually. However, this does depend on where you live. If you live in a hot part of the country, you may not need such a heat pump. But if you live in a place where you need to put on the heating, chances are that there won’t be too many heat particles to grab from the outside. So it’s an issue of balance. Heat pumps don’t offer much solace during the winter, however, and using them can be just as costly as normal air conditioning units pumping out hot air.
Hydroelectric
If you live near the coast, there is a chance that you could have your home powered by a hydroelectric company close by. They create power from rivers and waves to provide local power to coastal communities large and small. Hydroelectricity is perhaps the least well-known type of green energy, but it’s coming on leaps and bounds as the technology advances. However, it may be seasonal as during the fall and winter is when the majority of hydroelectric companies lower their prices as they have an abundance of energy to provide.
Your home should be powered by some kind of eco-friendly energy, there’s no excuse why it shouldn’t be with the amount of technology we have at our disposal. Start off small such as fitting an air pump heat source and then solar shingles. Or you can switch to a green energy provider.